Chocolate Spiked Oatmeal Cookies

I used this recipe from The Best of Clean Eating magazine cookbook to make some delicious treats for company on the weekend.  Our family loved them!  Well, to be honest, my youngest son didn't favor them, I think he preferred the treats in his Easter basket.  But they were a big hit with my oldest son, my husband, my parents and myself.  They do have more of a granola bar texture, but the addition of the dark chocolate chips gives it that cookie splurge feeling.  Next time I'll make up a batch with unsweetened cranberries too.  Big thumbs up for these.

You can find this recipe and so many others on the the Clean Eating magazine website
http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/Recipes/Recipe/Chocolate-Spiked-Oatmeal-Cookies.aspx
I highly recommend picking up their cookbook

INGREDIENTS:

• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 1/4 cups quick-cook old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 2 tsp flaxseed meal
• 1 tsp cinnamon, ground
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 1 large egg white
• 2 tsp unsalted almond butter
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup dark bittersweet chocolate chips (about 40 grams)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, flaxseed meal, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
3. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together agave, egg white, almond butter and vanilla.
4. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients all at once and combine. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Divide batter equally into 16 mounds (about 1 rounded tbsp in size) and arrange evenly spaced on prepared baking sheets. Using the back of a slightly dampened spoon, flatten each mound into 2 1/2-inch circles. Bake 9 to 10 minutes, until golden. Cool on sheets for an additional 10 minutes before transferring to racks to cool completely. Stored in an airtight container, cookies will keep fresh for 2 to 3 days.

Nutrients per 2 cookies: Calories: 170, Total Fat: 3.5 g, Sat. Fat: 1 g, Carbs: 35 g, Fiber: 3 g, Sugars: 18 g, Protein: 3 g, Sodium: 75 mg, Cholesterol: 0 mg

Just a note:  the recipe yields 16.  I got 14 out of a batch.  I didn't flatten mine quite as much as it instructed, and I was pleased to see that they do plump up a bit during baking.

I divided the batter up before dropping them by the spoonful on the cookie sheet.

Fresh from the oven.  Mmmmmm....they smelled so good.

Everyone came into the kitchen asking when they'd be ready to eat.